I'm back with some more Hayffie fluff, also using my OC character Aurelia from my last one shot and some new OCs. I wrote this when I should have been preparing for starting a new job, so I hope you enjoy my procrastination project!
"What a day." Haymitch muttered quietly as he brought the mug of hot coffee to his lips, taking a sip.
"You can say that again." Effie's voice could be heard from a distance in the other room as she was finishing up putting away the newly washed and dried dishes in the kitchen. Once her task was finally complete she appeared in the doorway, strawberry-blonde curly hair shoved up in a messy bun. Effie was dressed simply in comfy trousers and one of Haymitch's oversized jumpers, miles away from the Capitol fashion she used to wear all those years ago. Effie padded carefully through to the livingroom where Haymitch was sat in the corner of the room on the couch. After gently lowering herself into the space next to her husband, she smiled when he instantly opened his arm to envelope her in loving embrace. They fit together like a perfect puzzle, and Effie would never tire of being held by him. "I swear the kids are getting more and more stubborn like you by the day." Effie commented, which caused Haymitch to huff in response.
"Me?" Haymitch asked incredulously as he placed his mug down onto the table next to the sofa. Once this was done, he returned to his original position, a smirk forming on his lips as he leant over and pressed a kiss by her ear. "I think you'll find you're the stubborn one, sweetheart."
"Well I never. How rude." Effie countered playfully, her clipped Capitol accent coming through a little bit stronger in her bantering.
"You love it when I'm rude." He whispered in her ear once again, knowing exactly what this kind of talk did to his wife.
Effie quirked her eyebrow up before slowly turning her head to face Haymitch. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but instead, Effie closed the gap between them and captured her lips with his. The kiss started to heat up a little and as Effie moved over to straddle his hips, a sudden noise from upstairs tore the two apart in an instant.
"Did you hear that?" Effie questioned, voice filling with alarm.
"Shh."
"Don't you shush me." Effie nudged Haymitch's shoulder playfully then looked up to the ceiling as they listened intently to see if they could hear anything else.
The sounds of pitter pattering feet and children's giggling could be heard and Effie groaned a little as she slumped down into her husbands chest, knowing instantly that their children were not in fact asleep like they thought. "I swear..."
Haymitch chuckled lightly at his wife, before stealing a quick peck to her lips. "Come on Princess, let's go check on the kids."
As the couple crept upstairs and arrived outside the bedroom door, Effie suddenly waved her hand to pause their movements as they heard the voice of their eldest child, eight year old Aurelia. She had obviously snuck out of her own bedroom and had joined the twins. What were they up to? Effie shuffled closer and pressed her ear to the door and what she heard made her heart melt a little. Aurelia was telling some sort of story to her younger brother and sister, little noises of excitment coming from the twins as they anticipated what would happen next. Before the little girl could say anymore, the bedroom door swung open, revealing Effie's small figure in the darkness of the doorway. "Now, what is going on here?" Effie asked as she witnessed her three children freezing in position, taken by surprise. "It's late my darlings. What are you doing up?"
After a moment of silence and some thought, Aurelia finally spoke up. "We couldn't sleep mommy." The eight year old tried to reason with her mother, bringing her little hands together and wringing them nervously.
"Relie was just telling us a story, honest." A small boy's voice caught Effie's attention as she looked down to her right hand side. The young, blonde, blue eyed boy was looking up at her, his twin sister sitting next to him and nodding in agreement.
Turning her attention back to her eldest child, Effie's voice softened a little. "Well I can see that you couldn't sleep." Effie took a few steps forward and knelt down to her children's level. After taking in the sight of her kids, the twins sitting cross legged watching their older sister with so much adoration, a warm smile slowly appeared on her face. "What story were you telling Freddie and Tilly, darling?"
Whilst this was happening, Haymitch had crept in quitely and was now in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe as he watched Effie converse with their kids. Effie was an absolute natural at being a mother. Haymitch had known that from how she had cared and helped Peeta and Katniss through the games with him. He had known it from the minute he had seen her holding their tiny baby Aurelia in her arms over eight years ago. And he had known it from the minute their surprise twins made an appearance into the world. Haymitch knew that Effie was made to be a mother. He was in complete awe of her every single day.
Aurelia had now become aware of her father's prescense in the room and she looked up at him before replying. "I was telling the story that Daddy told me when I was younger, about how the Knight, Princess, Baker and Mockingjay saved the universe!"
Haymitch could feel his cheeks burning, and he was pretty sure they were turning a magnificent shade of pink. "Well, that does sound excting my darling." Effie spoke before glancing to her left, catching Haymitch rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. "Do you mind if I hear this story too? Then perhaps we can try going to sleep again?"
"Of course!" Relie nodded her head enthusiastically. "Daddy, will you come listen to the story too? That way if I forget or go wrong you can help me." The eight year old looked up to her Dad, eyes full of hope, a bright smile spreading across her face.
"Yeah, Daddy. Come on!" Tilly's sweet voice came out of nowhere, and Haymitch could feel his heart swelling at the love he felt for his kids.
"Please, Daddy!" Freddie chimed in, causing Effie to giggle at her children's enthusiasm, something Haymitch would argue that they got from her.
"Yes, come join us, dear." Effie moved so she was now sitting with her two youngest children by her side and patted the space next to her, signalling for her husband to join them on the floor, a mountain of pillows surrounding them. Haymitch was by their side in an instant, lifting Tilly into his lap, Effie mirroring his movements and doing the same with Freddie.
"I'll start again from the beginning. We didn't get that far into the story so it won't take me too long to tell the start again." Aurelia spoke confidently, clearing her throat before reciting the story she'd heard her father tell her numerous times before when she was little. It was her favourite story, and it was evident whilst Effie and Haymitch were watching their daughter that this story meant a lot to her. Every so often, Effie would take a glance at Haymitch, who looked so proud of his eldest daughter that he could burst with happiness. She couldn't imagine living this life with anyone else other than him. Seeing him become a Father to their children only made Effie love him more, if that was possible.
Once the story was over, Effie, Haymitch and the twins clapped and applauded, little Aurelia taking a bow, feeling proud of what she had accomplished. "Well done, my sweet girl." Effie cooed at her eight year old, opening her arms to scoop her into a bear hug.
"You remembered every single word nugget. I'm so proud of you." Haymitch ruffled Aurelia's dark blonde hair before leaning over and kissing her cheek.
After finally managing to coax all three children back into bed, Haymitch and Effie made sure they were sleeping before making their way back downstairs, slumping into their familiar spaces on the couch. Both letting out a contented sigh, Effie perched her head onto Haymitch's shoulder, whilst he let his chin rest gently on her lavender scented blonde hair. A small chuckle soon erupted from Effie, shattering the silence and pulling Haymitch's attention.
"Something funny, sweetheart?" Haymitch questioned, tilting his head down to look at his wife.
"What did we do to deserve those wonderful kids?" Effie asked, admiring how the fire crackled and danced around, iluminating the room with orange and red hues.
"They have you as a Mom, so I'd say we were all pretty lucky from the strart." Haymitch pressed a kiss into Effie's hair, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.
"And they have you as their Father, Haymitch, my knight in shining armour." She smirked a little saying the last few words, gaining a blush from her husband.
"Listen, sweetheart, I had to make up that story for Relie on the spot, and kids love stories with a knight in shining armour in it don't they?" Haymitch nudged Effie playfully, pulling another small laugh from her small form.
"That they do." Effie hummed in agreement before shifting her head so she could press a kiss into his stubbled cheek. "You are a knight in shining armour though, Haymitch. You rescued me didn't you?"
Haymitch felt a small tug at his heart hearing her words, memories of her rescue from the Capitol coming to the forefront of his mind. "Yeah..." He stuttered in response, shutting his eyes closed for a moment.
Effie could sense her husband's thoughts drifting into a place he didn't want to go, so she shifted in his arms and caressed a delicate hand on his stubbled cheek. "Hey..." She whispered, to which Haymitch slowly opened his eyes, his grey eyes meeting her blue orbs. "I love you, Haymitch. You and our little rascals."
Haymitch pressed a kiss into Effie's palm that was resting on his cheek. As he leaned forward and placed a tender kiss to her lips, he pulled back and smiled. "I love you too, sweetheart."
Hope you enjoyed this! I do love a bit of fluff :P
Until next time - M x